Normal Sleep Patterns?

For the longest time I was able to function on 6-8 hours of sleep without any real problem. I could even do some exercise in that time and be fine.

Nowadays, at 28 y.o., I have my nutrition fairly dialed in (still working on the finer points of it) and am making great strength gains while leaning out slowly.

I lift 3 times per week M,W,F following the Waterbury Method (Chad’s programs give me the best gains) and on top of that T, Th I do 1-2 hours of grappling training and 1 hour of Krav Maga. Friday nights I do an hour and a half of Ice Hockey, only pickup, not really competitive.

In addition I work full time and am taking University of Phoenix classes online at a full load. Now onto the problem.

I can’t seem to wake up before I get 11-12 hours of sleep anymore. Is this normal for the amount of activity I’m doing at the levels I’m doing it at? I’m starting to get concerned because it seems like I’m requiring too much sleep. However I feel awesome once I do wake up and feel better than I have in the past 8 years.

*EDIT: Forgot to mention that the problem really lies in that I can’t fall asleep after being up only 12-13 hours, so my daily schedule is getting fubared as I wake up later each successive day.

Classic sign of overtraining my man.

[quote]alphuris wrote:

I can’t seem to wake up before I get 11-12 hours of sleep anymore. Is this normal for the amount of activity I’m doing at the levels I’m doing it at? I’m starting to get concerned because it seems like I’m requiring too much sleep. However I feel awesome once I do wake up and feel better than I have in the past 8 years.

*EDIT: Forgot to mention that the problem really lies in that I can’t fall asleep after being up only 12-13 hours so my daily schedule is getting fubared as I wake up later each successive day.[/quote]

Wow. that is exactly what is happening to me, its driving me mad (in a very literal sense) to the point of me getting a pychiatrist to give me 2 bottles of Ambien (i’m 21, healthy). Given the opportunity, i can easily stay awake ALL day and night, and never feel tired. So each night, i wind up going to bed progressively later, and then either A. skip class the next morning because i have had 3hrs of sleep. or B. Sleep till i wake up on my own (5pm) and then be absolutely screwed for the next night’s sleep schedule, since i’ll have only been awake for 8hrs before i have to sleep again.

I do not feel that i am over training because other than sleeping, i’m relaxing or eating. This problem occured even before i discovered the Holy grail of T-Nation programs. I do train very heavy now doing the Westside template, repeating every 7 days (4 on, 3 off).
I seem way to energetic when i should be tired (come 3am) but then when i wake up, i feel like death and could sleep 14hrs. I’ve heard all the quick fixes and alterations using light, background sound, not eating before bed, removing the shacker, etc.

I KNOW Ambien is not the way and i should just use it as a very temporary solution, but i am out of ideas. If i leave my self exausted by not napping, the process will STILL happen, since i get so revved up when its late. I can not continue this nocturnal lifestyle, as it is killing my grades and lifting.
thanks
-k

bro, somehting similar happens to me also… I’ve changed my normal split 4 days a week bodybuilding routine into a more 10x3 (Waterbury style) training, of basic compounds etc. I’ve noticed that my sleeping patterns are disrupted… I feel extremely tired 2 to 3 hours after my training, and its very difficult to go to sleep at night, at the end only accomplishing about 7 hours of sleep, which isn’t bad at all, but the mid day drowsiness after training, seems to hit me pretty hard. I train twice or 3 times tops, but i reckon it can be overtraining what is affecting you mate… i suggest you to take a week of any hard training, and see how your body responds to it, also try to stop using stimulants (if you do use them)… a couple of weeks ago i used to be a caffeine junkie, getting in around 600mg-1g daily, when i stop taking it, i got severe headaches for a couple of weeks but it stopped some days after…

Couple of other things to note, I don’t use any stimulant besides maybe 1 Spike a day (thought I didn’t use it for a few days and am quite resistant to stimulants)and I always take a week off every 3-4 weeks since I like to go hard and heavy when I’m training.

I do workout rather late though at 6-7 pm so I’m pretty ramped up in the CNS later in the evening.